


As Long As There's Light

by JRCash



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Not totally canon backstory, Poe Backstory, Poe Childhood Memories, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 06:19:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8786851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JRCash/pseuds/JRCash
Summary: As the galaxy inches closer to war, Poe deals with lingering emotions from the loss of his mother.  Childhood memories remind him of why he must stay strong and face the growing threat of the First Order. Set Pre-TFA. Written for JediFest/Tumblr name: oscillatingfanx





	

Poe wasn’t even entirely sure why  _ another _ meeting was necessary, yet he found himself sitting in a large conference room in the Rebellion base on D’Qar.  He had received the reports a few days ago and had flipped through them quickly on his data pad.  No important or new information leapt out at him, the same repetitive intel and facts about the state of the galaxy he had read two standard weeks ago had been rewritten and sent out once again before General Organa insisted on calling another meeting about it.

Seated around the long glass table were the same group of faces Poe saw at the last meeting about the information.  Things still weren’t looking good, they hadn’t been for awhile.  The peace of the galaxy was fracturing, cracking apart slowly like thinning ice.  The First Order was growing stronger and the Republic debated back and forth endlessly, and with little resolve, in the governmental buildings on Hosnian Prime.  There was nothing the Resistance could do just yet. Information and intel was still being gathered about the growing threat, strategies and possible plans of attack were still being formed. Each new day brought the possibly that the ice would shatter and the galaxy would be thrown back into war once again.

 

But for the time being, everything hung in purgatory.  

Poe tried to focus, reaching for his data pad on the table as Admiral Statura rattled on about some scientific information that he had all but briefly glanced over in the report.  Tapping against the screen, Poe drew lazy circles across the pad with his finger, his mind and heart not willing to feign interest in the meeting that day, as much as he attempted to remain alert.  He leaned back in his chair as he rested his data pad in his lap.  Feeling his eyes growing heavy, the voices in the room around him began to fade into the distance, the sentences of the Admiral’s speech becoming hazy fractions of words.  Poe began to doze off. Letting his eyes close completely, Poe’s breath steadied as his mind completely slipped away from the waking world.  

 

* * *

Poe found himself in the lush jungles of Yavin 4.  The air around him was hot and hung heavy between the trees in a humid mist.  While many off world visitors found the tropical heat oppressive, Poe found it comforting, a welcoming feeling of home.  He began to move through the jungle, the canopy above him filtering streaks of bright sunlight through the dense foliage down to the forest floor below.  It smelled earthy and damp from the morning rain showers that were common on the moon.  His boots carried him across the blanket of fallen leaves, carefully stepping over bits of tree roots that poked and twisted up through the dirt.  His hands reached in front of him, pushing away dangling vines to clear his way.  It seemed as though an invisible force led him through the thicket, pulling him along in the direction he was meant to go in.   

 

In the distance ahead of him, he saw a small stone house.  His mind raced with memories as he paused for a moment, looking ahead to the clearing in which his childhood home stood.  It looked exactly as he remembered it, surprised in the time that had passed, the jungle had not tried to reclaim it as it’s own.  His parents had built the home themselves.  His father and a few of his close friends from the Republic spent weekends and leave time concreting the stone walls together themselves.  Bit by bit the house took shape over time until one day Poe found himself as a young boy standing in the jungle clearing looking upon the finished house much as he did now.  

 

“What’dya think Poe?” his father, Kes, asked his six year old son as he stepped beside him and placed his hand onto his shoulder. 

 

“I like it”  Poe gleefully answered as he took in the sight of the home for the first time.  It was not elaborate by any means, four solid walls dotted with a few windows and topped with a tiled roof, but it was still a sight to behold to the young boy.  Poe never thought in his life he would actually live in a real house.  As the child of two Republic soldiers, he found it normal to live in bunkers and barracks rather than in a freestanding house.  He smiled widely as he thought about how jealous the other kids on base would be when he told them about his house.  No more sleeping in bunk beds, trying to drown out other soldier's snores around him or in cramped single rooms with both of his parents and all of their belongings stuffed into a small space, never fully unpacking since reassignments and hasty moves were common for the family.      

 

“Go on.  Go inside and find your room” Poe’s father said as he smiled, nudging his young son to run ahead and explore the new house.  

 

Poe looked up at his father, his young brown eyes wide with excitement and disbelief that this was a reality.  His cheeks ached from grinning as he turned from his father and ran across the clearing to the front door of the house.  

 

Poe burst through the door, his small boots skidding slightly on the tile floor as he stopped himself in the foyer. Pausing for a second to take in his new surroundings, Poe looked around the interior of the house.  To the right of him was a small living area. A few pieces of wicker furniture had already been placed around the room, no doubt a housewarming gift from one of his parent’s many friends in the Republic.  Boxes and crates were stacked among the chairs, full of the family’s belongings, waiting to be unpacked and put away in their rightful places.  Poe’s looked to his left.  He pushed back a few errant curls that had fallen into his eyes and peered into a small kitchen and eating area. Taking a few steps into the dining room, he noticed a long hallway that extended towards the back of the home from the kitchen, figuring it must lead to the bedrooms.  

 

As he continued down the hall, Poe’s fingers traced against the wall, his young mind still taking in the fact that his family now had a home to call their own.  Hazy sunlight streamed into the house from a window at the end of the hallway, casting long shadows from the afternoon sun against the plastered walls and tiled floor.  There were two doors on opposite sides of the hallway.  The young boy looked at each one, unsure of which one was the correct one to open.  They were olden style wooden doors, unfamiliar to him, and nothing like the durasteel ones Poe was accustomed to using in military housing.  Deciding on the left one, Poe’s small hands struggled for a moment with the large door knob before the lock clicked open.   

 

Pushing the door open, Poe was greeted with his very own bedroom.  A small bed sat in the corner, draped with a few blankets with a pillow propped up against a carved wooden headboard.  A multicolored woven rug was spread out in the middle of the room and on the opposite wall, a low bookshelf had been built.  It had already been organized with toys lining the shelves along with a few holo-books.  For the first time in his young life, Poe had his own space, his own room, a place that wasn’t shared directly with his parents or was military sanctioned.  Poe stood in awe, still trying to process it all.  It was overwhelming for the small boy.         

 

“Do you like it?”  Poe’s mother asked gently as she stepped forward from the hall and leaned against the doorway.  Kes stepped behind her, his hand wrapping around his wife’s waist as they looked upon their wide-eyed son taking in his new surroundings.    

 

Poe turned to look at his parents.  “Yes!” he declared enthusiastically after a moment of silence, not quite sure how to vocalize all of the emotions he was feeling at the moment.   

 

“Look up” Kes instructed to his son as he pointed to the back corner of the room.  

 

Poe hadn’t noticed at first, but above his bed hung an assortment of model ships.  X and Y wings hung from delicate wires from the ceiling, mingled with model TIE fighters as if a space battle was taking place right there and then.  Poe climbed up onto the mattress to get a closer look, noticing one ship in particular that stood out among the others. 

 

“It’s the Millennium Falcon!” Poe exclaimed as he jumped up and down for a moment on the bed, his curly hair bouncing back into his eyes.  It was a model he longed to build, but never had the chance to.  Despite practically begging for it for his birthday, he instead received other model ships, unbenounced to him that the Falcon was one of the most sought after and expensive model kits in the galaxy, far unattainable by his parents standard salaries.    

 

Poe’s father stepped over to the side of his son’s bed and with his index finger, tapped the side of the model Falcon gently, causing it to sway and spin on the wire as if it was in flight.  

 

“A gift from General Solo himself” Kes remarked as he watched the ship twirl before him.    

 

“What?  Really dad?  He gave that to me?” Poe exclaimed, his small voice bubbling over with excitement that  _ the  _ Han Solo really gifted him a model of the infamous ship.  He had heard the stories time and time again how the beat up freighter helped rescue a Princess and defeat the Empire, but he never grew tired of hearing them.  Poe pushed back his hair from his face, his dark eyes still wide with astonishment as the young boy looked back at his father.        

 

“Your mother actually was gifted it for you” Kes said.     

 

Poe’s mother stepped forward from the doorway and crossed the room to her son.  Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled her boy into her lap as she sat down on the bed.  Poe was much too young to fully understand his parents’ jobs, not knowing they worked alongside the very people from the stories Poe loved to hear.  Shara and Kes liked that their son shared the same wonderment and adoration for Alliance heroes as any other child in the galaxy who wished to grow up to be a pilot or soldier.      

 

“I told General Solo how much you wanted to be a pilot like me and to have a ship as fast as the Falcon when you were older” Shara explained to her son.    

 

Poe looked up at his mother in amazement.  After his mother, he considered the Corellian to be the greatest pilot who ever lived.  

 

“I’m gonna be the best pilot in the whole galaxy someday!  I’m gonna be able to fly anything!” Poe declared proudly.   

 

Kissing the top of Poe’s head, Shara smiled down at her son as she squeezed him in a tight embrace. 

 

“Yes you are, Poe” she promised, knowing her son would grow up to do great things one day.   

* * *

 

Poe jolted awake with a start, the harsh reality of his actual surroundings hitting him quickly.  Gone was the warmth of the Yavin jungles and his mother’s embrace, replaced with cold filtered air and the buzzing of climate control systems.  The conference room was quiet as Poe’s cheeks began to flush with embarrassment that he had dozed off in a meeting.  He stretched his legs out in front of him under the table as he pushed back a few curls of hair from his face, the same ones that had always seemed to be untameable since he was a child.  He looked around, the long glass table now empty, his fuzzy mind trying to piece together how long he might have been asleep for when a voice caused him to jump slightly in his chair once again.  

 

General Organa stood across the table from him with her arms crossed in an authoritative stance.  Poe would have thought he was about to be officially reprimanded for his actions if it wasn’t for the small smile forming at the corners of Leia’s mouth.

 

“I never thought meetings were that interesting either, Dameron, but in all my years I never fell completely asleep in one” Leia commented dryly as she pulled out the chair across from him and sat down, her arms unfolding as she eased into the seat.    

Trying to muster his most charming smile to hide his embarrassment, Poe straightened himself upright from his slouched position in his seat. 

 

“How long was I out for?” he asked. 

 

“Not that long” Leia replied.           

 

The two sat in silence for a second. Poe’s stomach sharply panged with guilt and a bit of shame that the highest ranking Resistance leaders had seen him sleeping.        

 

Leia broke the silence between them.  “You must have been dreaming.  You mumbled your mother’s name” she said gently.    

 

Poe’s stomach completely flipped before dropping back into place, feeling as though it was now full of lead.  He usually portrayed the outward sense of a cocky pilot when among peers, but he tried his best to stay professional and on his best behavior when in the presence of Resistance leaders.  He knew from growing up in the military environment that the upper levels usually did not appreciate such manners he had just exhibited.  They also loved to gossip and surely word would get around base that Poe Dameron snoozes through official meetings and also talks in his sleep.  He knew it was a very real possibility it could only be a matter of days before he would have to endure teasing from his squadron about it and less than friendly glares from the higher ranking officials as he passed by them in the halls. 

 

“Don’t worry, no one noticed other than myself” Leia added, picking up on the worried look in Poe’s eyes.       

 

Poe sighed, letting out a long breath of relief.  General Organa was one of the few leaders that he did not feel was stuffy and aloof. He trusted her.  He respected her position in the Resistance in formal settings, but always knew he could make her laugh with a quick witted comment or sarcastic quip when the timing allowed for it.  

 

Leia had always had a soft spot for Poe.  He was an excellent squadron leader and pilot, aside from his typical fly boy tendencies when put into official settings.  _ Hells, I’m married to a cocky pilot, I know exactly how they are  _ Leia thought to herself.  She couldn’t begin to count the number of times over the years that she had to jab Han’s leg under the table in meetings to pull him back to consciousness, saving him from any odd looks or comments from others.  She could read Poe easily. His devil may care attitude was nothing more than a thin cover for his actual self consciousness and inner doubts.  The General saw a lot of Han in Poe sometimes, as if he was their own son.  Collecting her thoughts, she looked across the table at Poe.  She knew his dozing off in the meeting was unusual for him, but did not wish to make him feel guilty for his actions.  Leia smiled gently at the dark haired man across from her, still finding it hard to believe the little boy she once knew was now all grown up.      

 

“Your mother was an amazing pilot and soldier.  I remember her fondly.  Han does too. He always had something good to say about your mother’s piloting skills.  I know today is probably a difficult day for you” Leia said compassionately. 

 

Poe nodded in silence.  It was the anniversary of his mother’s death.  While years had passed, the pain of losing her never quite faded and on this date in particular, it nagged at him from the back of his mind louder than usual.        

 

“You know, when I was six, Han gave my mother a model ship for me.  I thought he was the most amazing pilot in the galaxy, other than my mom, of course” Poe said, recalling bits of his dream to the General.  “I used to be so jealous of anyone who actually got to sit in the cockpit of the Falcon”.     

 

Leia’s expression fell slightly at Poe’s words.  “Ben used to think the same thing about his father when he was that age” she replied, a hint of sadness in her voice that echoed through her words.  “I used to love seeing how excited he would get about one day flying a ship”.      

 

Knowing that her son was a dark issue with Leia, Poe swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.  He remembered Ben from his childhood. There had been a few times he had invited the boy to join him and other military kids in games.  His offer was always met with a brooding glare or a huff before the lanky boy turned away on his heel.  Poe knew that as they got older, he no longer saw Ben around bases anymore.  He had been sent away to train with his Uncle Luke and little was spoken about the Solo child again until Poe was older.  He had overheard whispers among personnel that Ben had turned to the dark side, bits and pieces about a massacre at the Jedi temple, never the entire story.  Little did Poe know that he would soon be facing the very boy he remembered, now a masked monster, who wanted to bring down everything the Republic had fought for so many years before.    

 

Poe crossed his leg, resting the side of his combat boot against his knee.  He continued with another fond memory, one he often recalled about his mother but rarely shared with anyone.  He hardly wanted to dwell on Ben and he was sure that Leia did not either.  

 

“My mother used to take me into the cockpit of her ship and show me all the controls.  She used to joke that my first words were targeting scope”.  

 

Leia laughed brightly, the lines in her fair skin crinkling the corners of her eyes as if all sadness from a moment ago had been pushed back into the depths of her mind. She thought back through the years to Poe as a young boy.  She recalled Poe as a child, wild curly hair and big brown eyes who was never afraid of anything.     

 

“You used to run around the hanger yelling out different parts of ships as you learned them.  Your mother’s squadron particularly liked that you couldn’t quite pronounce proton torpedo correctly.  Had a whole group of pilots referring to them as “pee-ton-reetos” in mission reports for weeks until I was forced to send out a memo saying that all official documents submitted must have proper part names in them.  Took the fun out of reading them for me honestly”.

 

Poe’s mouth cracked into a smile as he let out a chuckle at Leia’s story.  He never knew that about himself, only remembering being a small boy weaving through the base hallways with his toy ships, pretending he was a pilot himself blasting off to save the galaxy.    

 

“Shara used to say you’d be one hell of a pilot someday.  She’d be proud of you, Poe” Leia said earnestly with a softness in her voice.  “She’d be proud of the man you’ve become”.

 

To hear Leia say that his mother would be proud of him hit him like a blow from a wampa paw leaving him at a loss at what else to say.  Emotions he long kept buried welled up in his chest as he nervously tapped his boot against his knee.  He kept his memories of his mother pushed far back in his mind as best as he could, buried deep, only rarely surfacing in ways he could never quite explain.   Most around him would never guess that he still bore such deep emotional scars within himself, yet General Organa could read him too well and had known him too long to know that those wounds never did heal, the agony he felt about the loss of his mother never would fade away.         

 

“I know I am.  You mean a lot to the Resistance and to me” Leia continued, leaving Poe in silence.  She could see the sadness in his dark eyes and the look of quiet pensiveness on his face.  She knew what it was like to grieve. No matter how much time passed, how much life seemed to return to normal, the deep ache of loss would always still be haunting.       

 

“Thank you, General” Poe managed to reply.    

 

Leia uncrossed her legs and stood from her chair, giving Poe a gentle smile before leaving him to himself.  She knew that sometimes words could only comfort so much.  Grief was sometimes best dealt with in personal reflection.    

 

* * *

Poe sat in the empty conference room for a long time after the General’s departure, mulling over Leia’s words and running through memories of his mother.  As he grew up, he had learned that his mother was a squadron leader and his father a Pathfinder with Han Solo.  His parents had fought in the thick of battles against the Empire alongside with the very people as a child he admired.  His parents were always humble though, never bragging about rank or position, well liked and respected in the Republic.  His father would openly share stories from the war, but his mother was much quieter about her history.  Anytime Poe had asked about her adventures, his requests were answered by his mother telling him that her actions were not important, it was that the galaxy was free once again.   

 

Poe’s early childhood had been a happy one. Time between his parent’s missions were spent as a family in the little stone house in the jungle. Kes and Shara loved watching as their son ran around the clearing outside of their home, his young imagination always sending him on some great escapade, his made up adventures across the galaxy were as wild as his curly hair.  They would read to him as they tucked their son in at night. His mother always would pull the blankets up tight around her son as he drifted off to sleep looking up at the model ships hanging above his bed.  Life was good for the Dameron family.        

 

Until one fateful day when Poe was eight years old.  He had been in school when a man came to the door of his classroom.  Hushed whispers exchanged between the teacher and General Rieekan.  The man gestured for Poe to follow him, leading him down a maze of hallways before reaching Leia’s office.  Poe remembered sitting in a chair, Leia behind her desk, flanked by General Rieekan and his father.  The Princess’ eyes were ringed in red as if she had been crying in private, but had tried to composed herself in the time it took to fetch the young boy and for the others to arrive.  Poe was confused.  He looked around the room, trying to figure out why he was pulled out of class.

 

Kes stepped forward towards his son, kneeling down in front of him and looking into his dark eyes.   

 

“Poe, I don’t know an easy way to tell you this”  Kes began, taking a deep breath to choke back a fresh round of tears from welling up in his eyes.  “Your mother has passed away”.  

 

Poe blinked slowly, the room around him seeming to fall away as his young life as he knew it came crashing down around him.  He felt gutted, his small body too shocked to scream or cry initially at the news.  He sat frozen as Kes placed his hands on his shoulders, focusing intently on the young boy”.   

 

“Son, we’ve got to stay strong, okay?  It’s just you and I now”.  

 

Poe’s bottom lip quivered as he realized that his mother was truly gone.  Tears welled in his eyes.  Never would he hear her voice singing him to sleep at night, never again would he sit on her lap as they flew above Yavin.  A single tear slipped down Poe’s cheek as Kes took his son’s hand, helping him off the chair and guiding him home.  

 

The next ten years passed.  Poe grew from a small boy who played with toy ships into a young man who wanted to officially pilot real ones.  On his eighteenth birthday, he marched into Leia’s office and personally asked her to enlist him in the Republic.  With a smile, she gave him a datapad with the necessary forms, even though recruiting was not her job.  She knew Poe had counted down the days until he was able to join, following in his mother’s footsteps, itching to don the same orange flight suit as her and jet through the galaxy.   

 

Poe quickly became one the Republic’s best fighter pilots, but as much as he loved being in the cockpit of his x-wing, he began feeling as though the Republic was losing touch with the ideals and principals that his mother had fought so hard for.  He was not the only one who felt that way and one day, Leia had sought him out in the hangar.  He had been working on his ship, his hands covered in engine grease as he set his hydrospanner aside to give her his full attention.  Leia leaned close to him, hidden out of view behind the ship’s wings.  

 

“I need a pilot.  Come with me to the Resistance” Leia whispered to him.   

 

Without a second thought, Poe replied  “You’ve got one.  I’m in”.  

 

And with that, he found himself on D’Qar among a scrappy band of fighters who were much like the ones his parents had been among so many years ago with the Rebellion.  They didn’t have much, but they had a cause worth fighting for.  A new threat was rising, one that wished to rule the galaxy with malice never seen before, even under the Empire.  One that Poe knew soon enough he would be fighting a war against himself. 

* * *

 

BB-8 rolled into the meeting room and nudged himself against the side of Poe’s leg.  The little astromech droid had been searching the base for his owner, weaving his way around ships in the hangar and through empty halls wondering where he could have gone.  Poe looked down at the droid who beeped a sequence of sounds at him. 

 

“I’m sorry you were looking for me for so long, buddy.  I just needed some time alone”.

 

The droid cooed a low whistle, as if he somehow understood human emotion before chirping again at Poe.    

 

“I know I can’t sit here all day”  Poe replied.  He exhaled a long sigh before pushing back his chair, composing himself.  He had dwelled in his past enough for the day and needed to return to the present, even if he still felt a dull ache within him.    

 

BB-8 followed Poe out into the hallway as he began making his way back towards the hangar. He had plenty of work to attend to on his ship, small tweaks and modifications that would get it into optimum flying condition and hopefully would keep his mind off of things for the rest of the day.  The droid rolled in front of him, cutting Poe off as it let out a stern whistle.

 

“Hey!”  Poe exclaimed, steadying himself as he almost tripped over the droid.

 

BB-8 didn’t budge, instead only swaying back and forth slightly as he blocked Poe’s path. The droid chirped as he bumped against Poe’s leg, nudging him to take the hallway that lead to the pilot’s sleeping quarters instead of the hangar.  

 

“Come on BB-8, I’ve got work to do” Poe protested, wondering what had gotten into the little astromech unit.  He tried once again to step around the droid, the metal orange and white side of the droid bumping firmly into his shin.  

 

“Ouch!” Poe scowled down at BB-8.  “Fine, we’ll go your way but let’s make this quick”.     

 

Poe followed along, the droid speeding along ahead of him down the long hallway before stopping outside of Poe’s quarters, swaying back and forth in front of the door, waiting for his master to open it.   

 

“I can’t sit in my room all day” Poe said bluntly, slightly confused of why the droid had brought him here.        

 

The droid let out a long series of beeps and whistles, almost as if he was telling Poe that his work could wait for just a little longer.    

 

“Alright, alright”  Poe countered before placing his hand against the palm reader to activate the door. 

 

Poe figured he’d let BB-8 have his way for a few minutes and he’d be on his way.  He sat against the edge of his mattress as silence enveloped him, letting time tick by on the chronometer.  Poe looked around his room.  It was a standard military bunk just like the dozens  of rooms Poe had lived in before in his life.  Poe ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face.  There was one room in his life that was different though, one place that truly had been his own.    

 

Poe pulled himself from the mattress and knelt down on the floor.  He bent to pull a small trunk out from underneath his bed.  Sitting back on the floor, he opened the two silver latches, revealing the contents inside.  Pushing aside a few sweaters and various items, he found what he was looking for at the very bottom.  It was the Millennium Falcon model that once hung above his childhood bed on Yavin.  Turning the ship over in his hands, he looked down at it.  The paint had begun to chip away at the corners over the years, leaving it looking much more like the actual Falcon than the polished model version it once had been.

 

BB-8 rolled towards Poe and beeped curiously at the object.    

 

“My mom gave this to me” Poe explained to the droid.  He raised the model in his hand and swooped it through the air front of him, much like he would have done as a small boy.  

 

BB-8 remained quiet, tilting his head to the side as he listened to Poe continue with his  thoughts outloud.  Poe’s face fell, a wave of sadness overcoming him as he studied the toy. 

“I miss her.  I miss her every kriffin’ day” Poe admitted out loud.  It felt good to say it, to not hide it away, even if he was just talking to his droid.  

 

Poe lowered his arm, resting the model ship in his lap.  “I think she’d hate to see the galaxy heading towards war.  Everything she and dad fought for falling apart all over again”.  

 

He wished he could fly with his mother, show her the pilot he had become, much in part to her taking him up in her ship when he was young.  In years past, he had rarely spent this much time reminiscing about his mother on the anniversary of her death.  It was always easier for him to absorb himself in extra work on the date rather than face his feelings.  This year was different.  Poe had gone on his share of dangerous missions, but never faced all out warfare.  Part of him was excited, to blaze through the sky with his squadron and show the First Order what they were really dealing with.  But deep down, he was scared.  Terrified that he wouldn’t make it back, or one of his pilots would be lost in an attack.  He knew some of his men and women had families of their own. The possibility that those children might lose a parent and have to grow up without them weighed heavy on him.  

 

BB-8 rolled forward a bit, bumping lightly against Poe’s side with a chirp of condolence.

 

Poe took a deep breath as he ran his fingers over the model ship, tracing the grooves and ridges in the metal.  Between everything he felt about the looming war, he knew ultimately why he was here on D’Qar with the Resistance.  It wasn’t just to be a pilot or a soldier, but to uphold all of the good his parents had fought to bring to the galaxy.  To make sure that the light still overcame the dark.                   

“I’m doing this for her” Poe said, cracking a slight smile, finally finding some peace within himself.  “And when the time comes, I’m gonna give ‘em hell from the both of us”. 


End file.
